I started this blog in 2009 to document what I ate, what I read, and how much I ran leading up to the NYC marathon. While I did manage to drag myself over the finish line, I have since decided I am not a marathon runner. I have also decided that while running, food, and reading are no longer the centre of my life, they remain an integral part of helping me centre and appreciate my life. They help me realize that it's not that serious...

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Sunday, September 22, 2013

Birthdays, Cake, Smiles, and Tears

Last night I hosted what will probably be the last little kids' party I'll ever be throwing for one of my kids.

The last time I'll spend an afternoon driving from house to house dropping off invitations.
The last time I'll have to break up fights about who gets to sit next to the birthday boy.
The last time I'll have to insist that she lets her brother come to her party.
The last time I stay up 'till midnight putting together lootbags.
The last time I order way too much bad pizza.
The last time I try to do something different and make Mac n Cheese when all they really wanted was bad pizza.
The last time I'll get to buy a bag of Cheezies "for the party" knowing I'll "forget" to put them out and thus, I'll be "forced" to consume them later.
The last time I'll have a Disney Princess/Gabriella from High School Musical/Face makeup artist in my living room.
The last time I'll get to watch my daughter's face light up when, surrounded by friends, she blows out her candles and makes her wish.
The last time I'll stuff garbage bags full of wildly-ripped wrapping paper into the recycling bin...usually along with half of the cards and the carefully documented list of who-gave-which present, thus making personalized Thank-You's near impossible.
The last time I have to warn the restaurant that there's a party of 10 "energetic" boys coming in.
The last time two little faces will appear next to my bed at 3am because as friend has "changed her mind" about sleeping over.
The last time I'll get a ferocious hug from my cake-faced, sticky-handed baby, thanking me for "the best party ever!"
The last time I'll sneak down to the kitchen after everyone's gone to sleep, eat leftover cake, scroll through the photos, and get teary-eyed over the fact that time is passing way too quickly.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
This is the perfect recipe for moms like me who are short on both time and Cake Boss-like skills.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350
Grease a large round cake pan.
Cut each tube of dough into 8 equally-thick disks
Put the disks of dough into the cake pan as close together as possible while still filling the pan. Don't worry if there are 'holes'; we'll take care of that later.Bake for about 3-4 minutes, or until the dough starts to get all melty.
Remove from oven and using the back of a spoon, smooth out the dough and fill in any blank spaces. See? I told you we'd take care of it.
Put back in the over for another 12 minutes or until the edges are getting brown. These will take longer to bake than a normal cookies because they are, well, WAY BIGGER.
As soon as you take it out of the oven, carefully place your Smarties in any delightful pattern you
wish. I like to add the Smarties after so (a) I can control their positioning and (b) they don't melt away and discolour your cookie cake.
Let cool completely and then write "Happy Bithday" or something similar on it.